Social Democrat leader seeks out-of-court settlement with lawyer

Saturday's Lidove noviny writes that Social Democrat chairman Jiri Paroubek has sent a letter to lawyer Zdenek Altner offering him an out-of-court settlement in the case of the party's alleged large debt to the lawyer. According to the paper, the lawyer is willing to negotiate a settlement on condition the party pays him 176 million crowns (over 8 million USD) by Monday. The Social Democrats hired Mr Altner in a legal dispute over their Prague headquarters in the 1990s. He now says the party owes him 18 billion crowns (or 850 million US dollars) for his services. The amount demanded includes interest and sanctions.